Tuesday, October 28, 2014

Streetwise NEEDS you!!!!

This is Mulenga. I just adore his sweet sweet face!

Luis is explaining to the boys where the hats came from.

God has recently reminded me of the mandate He gave us for the streets kids of Zambia. Basically it is this.....RELATIONSHIP!!!! It is all about building trust and establishing relationship. He has reminded me and refreshed me to the reality that we are not the answer to the issue, Jesus Christ is the answer! All we have to do is be consistent, to show up when we say we are going to show up and lend a listening ear. Thats it! The rest is up to God!

These guys are showing off the hats the Military Ministry ladies at TSC made for them.

It is hard to keep the above mentioned in focus when we come in contact weekly with CHILDREN who are hungry, broken, filthy and cold. I can’t tell you how many times I just want to pile as many of them in my car as possible and bring them home, feed them hot soup, give them hots baths, and tuck them into nice comfy beds in a clean house where they don’t have to worry about roaches crawling on their faces, or being cold, or being robbed.

Streetwise has grown! We have been faithful to the best of our abilities to the mandate God has given us. We have gone out faithfully every wednesday since January 2012. We have a team! We even have an outreach coordinator! We are going to expand the outreaches to a Saturday morning one as well. We have discovered where the boys sleep in a drainage ditch at night. So we want to show up there with hot tea and sandwiches when they wake up.

The Craft Co side of things has been underway for a year. For that amount of time Luis and I have been slaving away in our living room / dining room developing a product that we can teach the boys how to do and then they can go on and make a living for themselves.

Our Craft Co display set up on our front porch. We allow customers to come to our home and shop or place orders.

Here is the issue......because it is in our home, we cannot bring the boys in to work. We have three little girls that we need to consider, plus neighbors who might not appreciate the intrusion. In addition to the fact, I am SICK of tripping over piles of wood and spray paint cans in an attempt to make dinner and do homework with my children.

Me in our "dining room" / art room

the "dining room"

How can you help?

1. You can PRAY! PLEASE PRAY!!!!!!!!!! We need a space to open up for us to move the operation into! We have been looking at one near our home, but the land lord seems to be stalling. PLEASE PRAY!!!!!!! We desperately want to work more effectively with the boys! Also please pray that more people get involved. We are going to need more day to day help when the Lord allows us to move into the space. English classes, feeding programs, and SWCO skills.

2. You can give! You can give financially to the work. As of now the cost of running Streetwise is about 300 usd per month. That includes supplies needed for the Craft Co, supplies for the outreaches and any extra expenses that come up. When we get into the studio, PRAYERFULLY BY JANUARY!!!!! The costs will shoot up to 2,000 usd per month. That is inclusive of the rent, bills, food 2x per day for the boys, and wages, plus the above mentioned supplies for the outreaches and the craft co. Would you be willing to sacrifice two Starbucks a month to give a kid a fighting chance at a future? Two Vente Caramel Latte is enough to purchase bread and tea for 30 kids!

3. You can come volunteer your time!!! “But Myranda I don’t know what I am doing!” Doesn’t matter one whit!!!! All you need is a willing heart and an open mind and a set of clothes you don’t mind getting filthy! It is FUN!

4. You can help us spread the word! Where you are you can hold fundraisers!

Pancake Breakfasts!

Spagetti Dinners!

Car Washes!

Fun Runs!

Karaoke Night!!!

Silent Auctions!

The list is endless!!!!!

Here is my point......If God is burdening you with Streetwise and you can’t physically get on a plane and come over, NO WORRIES!!! You can get involved where you are!! Pray!! Give!! ACT!!!

A missionary is only as effective as the people supporting them!!

You guys ROCK MY WORLD!!!!!!!!!! ALWAYS AND FOREVER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

If you are interesting in giving financially to Streetwise you can go to tscnyc.org. Click on GIVE. Follow the prompts to MISSIONARIES then choose our name. It is tax deductible! (thats always a plus!!!)